| Cord blood used to make miniature artificial liver |
| 11 November 2006 - by Heidi Nicholl |
| Scientists from Newcastle University have managed to grow the world's first miniature artificial liver in the laboratory. The team, led by Dr Nico Forraz and Professor Colin McGuckin, used NASA technology to make the piece of tissue, the size of a one penny piece, from donated umbilical... [Read More] |
| New York doctors given go-ahead to attempt womb transplants |
| 12 November 2006 - by Heidi Nicholl |
| A surgeon in New York has been given the go-ahead to carry out a womb transplant. The procedure has been tried once before in humans in Saudi Arabia in 2000, but the organ had to be removed after 100 days when a blood clot formed in the... [Read More] |
| Vision restored in mice using later stem cells |
| 12 November 2006 - by Heidi Nicholl |
| In groundbreaking research, scientists have used a new approach to stem cell science to partially restore vision in mice genetically engineered to mimic human degenerative sight defects such as retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration. The team, a collaboration between University College London and the University of Michigan... [Read More] |
| British undercover journalists referred abroad for illegal sex selection |
| 12 November 2006 - by Heidi Nicholl |
| According to the UK's Sunday Times newspaper last week, clinics in the UK are offering couples the chance to choose the sex of their child, a practice that is illegal in Britain unless done to avoid a serious genetic disorder in the resulting child, by referring them... [Read More] |
| Charity survey shows UK attitudes to fertility treatments |
| 12 November 2006 - by Dr Kirsty Horsey |
| New research detailing the UK public's views on IVF and related fertility issues has been published. The research was carried out by YouGov on behalf of the UK charity Progress Educational Trust in October 2006, in the form of two online survey questionnaires, to which a... [Read More] |
| Australian senate narrowly approves embryo cloning legislation |
| 12 November 2006 - by Antony Starza-Allen |
| Australia's Senate has narrowly voted - by 34 to 32 - to approve new legislation that will overturn the current ban on the cloning of human embryos for stem cell research. The bill still needs to be passed by the House of Representatives, who will vote on the issue... [Read More] |
| UK scientists ask for licence to create human-cow embryo |
| 13 November 2006 - by Stuart Scott |
| Two teams of British scientists have applied for licences to create hybrid embryos from human and animal cells in order to create stem cells. The North East England Stem Cell Institute - a biotech research body run by the Universities of Durham and Newcastle - and the Stem Cell... [Read More] |
| Signs of change in US stem cell policy? |
| 13 November 2006 - by Antony Starza-Allen |
| By Antony Blackburn-Starza: There's a feeling of change in relation to embryonic stem (ES) cell research in the US following the mid-term elections, which saw the Democrats capturing both the Senate and the House of Representatives from the Republicans. In the state of Missouri, where ES cell research was a... [Read More] |
| Parents of surrogate child are denied legal status by Victoria's state law |
| 13 November 2006 - by Antony Starza-Allen |
| Australian Senator Stephen Conroy and his wife may be forced to leave their home in Victoria, Australia, to escape state laws that do not recognise them as legal parents of their child, which was born to a surrogate. The Victorian Law Reform Commission said that the state's... [Read More] |
